Food Facts for Kids
Tasty facts about the food we eat
Chia seeds were a staple food for Aztec warriors, who believed a single tablespoon could sustain a person for 24 hours. The word 'chia' comes from the Mayan word for 'strength.'
Miso — the paste used to make miso soup — is made by fermenting soybeans with salt and a mould called koji for anywhere from a few weeks to several years. Longer-aged miso has a deeper, more complex flavour.
Fresh olives straight from the tree are so bitter they are almost inedible. They contain a compound called oleuropein that must be removed by curing in brine, salt, or lye for weeks or months before they can be eaten.
The world's oldest surviving recipes are written on ancient Babylonian clay tablets that date to around 1700 BC. They include instructions for stews and breads, making them the first known cookbooks in human history.
The pomelo is the world's largest citrus fruit, sometimes growing to the size of a football. It is the ancestor of the grapefruit and is native to Southeast Asia, where it is eaten during Chinese New Year as a symbol of good luck.
Caramel is made by carefully heating sugar to around 170°C (340°F), which causes it to melt and then undergo hundreds of chemical reactions. The result creates the characteristic golden colour and rich, slightly bitter flavour.
Some varieties of seaweed contain more vitamins and minerals per gram than almost any land-grown vegetable. Nori, the dark sheet used to wrap sushi, is rich in vitamin B12 — a nutrient almost impossible to get from non-animal sources.
Quinoa is one of the few plant foods that contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source. The ancient Incas called it chisiya mama — 'the mother grain' — and considered it sacred.
French's mustard — the bright yellow American condiment — was not invented in France. It was created by Robert T. French in Rochester, New York, and introduced at the 1904 World's Fair, the same year as hot dogs.
Botanically speaking, cucumbers are fruits because they develop from a flower and contain seeds. In culinary terms they are treated as vegetables. This same distinction applies to courgettes, aubergines, and peppers.